Community Development
|
|
We are pleased to share with you some
of the highlights of our 2007 educational programs and activities
conducted by the Coshocton County Extension faculty and staff.
Agriculture
& Natural Resources
-
Educational
programs in agriculture and natural resources remain centered on the
production
aspects of crops and livestock, but are much more focused on the
environmental
issues affecting local farmers. Extension's
"research based" information pursues those
educational programs that are both environmentally sound and socially
acceptable. This approach goes hand in
hand with OSU's College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental
Sciences efforts
to insure that our educational programs represent production practices
that are
efficient, feasible and economically suitable for producers in Ohio. In light of these programming shifts, our
mission statement however still remains the same, "To help people
improve their lives through an educational process using scientific
knowledge
focused on identified issues and needs."
-
Local farmers who are
licensed to
apply restricted-use pesticides require mandated periodic
recertification
training. More than 300 licensed applicators receive updated product
and
application technology education through programs conducted by the OSU
Extension Educator. Yearly surveys verify that over 95 percent of those
participating agree that they have adopted increased personal safety
techniques
and procedures in the application of pesticides and have improved their
ability
to control yield-limiting insect, disease, and weed pests while
maintaining the
standards for a safer environment.
-
The OSU Extension-
Coshocton County
website received a total 235,906 “hits” so far in 2006. This is up 24%
since
2005. Average visitors per day have also increased by 60% in 2006, to
248
visitors per day. By increasing awareness
to the web site, clients are able to find Extension information 24
hours a day,
weekends and holidays. Additionally, this helps to reduce material
costs and
increase personnel resources in the office. Information
on the web site includes all four
Extension programming
areas, a local calendar of events and links to pertinent Coshocton County
websites.
Back to Top
Family & Consumer Sciences
Back
to Top
4-H Youth Development
- “Adopt
a
Resident” program was initiated in 2006 by the 4-H Food, Fashion,
Family Living
Board to better understand the needs of the elderly and give back to
the
community. Board members were assigned a
resident of a local care center and throughout the year sent cards,
visited
with, had a “share a cookie day”, and made a personalized lap blanket
embroidered with the individual’s name for the holidays.
Nine Board members participated in this
program under the
direction of one adult leader who all decided to make this a continuing
community service focus. Each year the
Board will choose a different facility and hopes to also include
special needs
audiences.
- The
State
4-H Ambassador program continues to be a learning and growing
experience for Coshocton
County
4-H teens. During the spring of 2006,
Ambassadors
promoted 4-H by discussing local 4-H opportunities with the county
commissioners and working with the commissioners to proclaim March 5-11
as Coshocton
County
4-H Week. Ambassadors also talked about
the many
opportunities available through 4-H on the WTNS Radio talk show and
WHIZ
television. Three local 4-H Ambassadors
worked the Ohio State Fair events of Woodworking Day, Family Life Day,
and
Poultry Skillathon and will be assisting with the 2007 State 4-H Teen
Conference and Ohio
4-H Volunteer Conference. Locally
Ambassadors assisted with livestock skillathons, evaluation days,
Career Center
Open House, and taught at the County 4-H Kick-Off teaching officer
sessions and
livestock quality assurance. New
activities initiated by the 2006-2007 Ambassadors were assisting with
the Ohio
Military Kids program and a new 4-H Welcome Sign. An
Ambassador contacted local businesses and
got seven backpacks and fun, educational items for inside donated for
delivery
to the State 4-H Office to support Ohio Military Kids.
Also one Coshocton County 4-H Ambassador
learned about local, county, and state road sign requirements;
requested
funding; worked with a local sign business, and had a “Coshocton County
4-H
Welcomes You” sign posted on a major highway at the western edge of
Coshocton
County. All these opportunities through
the State 4-H Ambassador program are helping local teens gain
leadership skills
while also promoting 4-H.
-
Thirty-five
4-H teens served as counselors for 110 campers during the 2006 4-H
Junior Camp,
July 26-30, at 4-H Camp Ohio with activities centered around the theme
“Blast
from the Past” celebrating different times in history.
On the follow-up
counselors’ survey, the counselors listed that they had learned
numerous
leadership skills by being a camp counselor. The
skills listed most often included: responsibility,
patience, leadership, enthusiasm,
control, problem
solving, and public speaking. Eighty-six percent (86%) of the
counselors
responded that counselor training helped them to understand their role
as a camp
counselor. The counselors listed on the
survey that as a result of being a 4-H camp counselor, they have been
able to
use these leadership skills in other areas such as school, work,
sports,
church, school organizations, Junior
Fair Board, community activities, babysitting, and life.
Back to Top
Community Develpment
- The
purpose
of this county wide strategic economic development plan is to set forth
a
community process to establish the strategic objectives (ends),
concepts (ways)
and resources (means) required to shape the future of Coshocton County’s
economic well being. Anticipating the future and developing a vision
for the
desired future are essential components of the planning methodology.
The
Schooler Family Foundation recognized the importance of this
educational
endeavor and made a $30,000 gift to Ohio State University Extension to
facilitate the community process in the spring of 2005.
- Initially,
an Extension Economic Development Advisory Committee, comprised of
local
citizens, organized in November 2005 to formulate the educational
process and
develop a strategy to enlist other volunteers to develop a strategic
plan for
economic development.
- The
Advisory Committee was asked to consider three main tasks: 1) a public
information campaign to help residents understand the economic
situation,
current trends, and future directions for Coshocton, 2) a public
education and
meeting plan to inform and engage residents in discussions about the
economic
future for Coshocton County, and 3) the appointment of a Strategic
Planning
Committee to guide the economic development processes and planning for
the
community.
- Subsequently,
the Advisory Committee helped to create an eight member Economic
Development
Task Force who recruited an additional 64 community members and leaders.
- The
Strategic Planning Committee was charged with developing
recommendations for
future actions based on identifiable objectives and measurable goals in
support
of the strategic plan based on the following parameters.
- Answer
Strategic Questions using interviews and other investigative techniques.
- Develop
Strategic Goals based upon investigations and explorations.
- Develop
Strategic Actions to move toward goal fulfillment.
- Develop
Action Steps to implement Strategic Actions.
- As a
result
of this educational process and Extension’s efforts, the Strategic
Planning
Committee prepared and delivered to the community a Comprehensive
Economic
Development Strategy Plan in March 2006. The plan has become the basis
for the
community’s future decision making process and is being utilized by
political
and non-political office holders and leadership in the county. As a
result of
these efforts, A new Community Development Council (CDC) has been
formed to
further the work of this study. This plan is estimated to be worth over
$50,000
in outside consulting fees.
-
In the
spring of 2002, the Coshocton County Board of Coshocton County
Commissioners
enlisted the aid of Ohio State University Extension (OSUE), Coshocton County,
to shape an educational process in an effort to enhance the local
citizens
understanding of land use planning and to prepare the community to
respond to
future land use decisions in an efficient and informed manner.
·
The
Board of Commissioners legitimized the process and charged OSUE to
insure that
the community be engaged and informed during all phases of the process.
·
The
Coshocton County Commissioners appointed a 24-member Steering Committee
to
oversee the development of the plan. The membership of this committee
represented a diverse background of both private and public interests
in Coshocton
County.
Commissioners used selection
criteria based on demographics, bipartisanship, and leadership and
declined to
appoint elected or public office holders in an attempt to create a
neutral and
unbiased environment.
·
Subsequently,
over 150 citizens became part of the effort to build and reflect the
consensus
of the community. The intent was to create a broad base of
"stakeholders" for the plan.
The final
Coshocton County Plan was delivered to the Board of Commissioners and
adopted
as the official Land Use Plan for the County in October 2006 and saved
the
county in excess of $45,000 in outside consultant fees.
Back to
Top
Master Gardener
- 29
active
Master Gardeners in Coshocton
County
have volunteered
1225 hours toward education and beautification projects in the county.
Six
Interns successfully completed their training and volunteer obligation
in 2006.
Additionally, Master Gardeners have obtained over 795 horticultural
education
hours to better themselves. Eliza’s Garden and the Weaver’s Garden,
both
located in historic Roscoe
Village,
educate visitors
on herbs, plants used for dye and heirloom vegetable varieties. The
Spring
Symposium, an educational program for the public, had 33 participants,
nine
more than in 2005. 100% of the participants agreed that they had gained
knowledge and received information that will help them make more
informed
decisions in their home gardens. This project won Southeast Ohio
Regional
winner for Master Gardener Project of the Year. During
the County fair, the Master Gardener booth
provided over 900 OSU
Extension FactSheets to the public. The local radio station, 99.3 WTNS,
hosts
the live, call-in show “The Real Dirt” once a month. Master Gardeners
answer a
variety of questions from the public and discuss current gardening
topics. The
Master Gardener newsletter, “Keep It Growing”, has a mailing list of
200
people; with 36% of subscribers choosing to be notified via e-mail when
the
latest edition is available online- saving Extension resources. The
newsletter
provides timely and researched-based gardening information. Independent
Sector,
a coalition of leading non-profits, estimates the worth of the
volunteer hours
provided to Coshocton
County
at $19,722.50.
Back
to Top
If you have questions or would like more information on these
or
any of our educational programs, please contact the Extension office or
e-mail
us at: cosh@cfaes.osu.edu
OSU
Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that
all educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension
are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard
to race, color, age, gender identity or expression, disability,
religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Agricultural
Administration and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 ( Ohio
only) or 614-292-1868
Updated:
January 2007
|
